


The Entity Known as Jerome

by DarkLordFluffy



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Jerome is Not Human, Jerome is alive, Mysterious Formless Entity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26523568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkLordFluffy/pseuds/DarkLordFluffy
Summary: Jeremiah Valeska was not born a twin. He had no siblings. And his mother never intended to have any more children. She barely wanted the one she had. So how can his brother Jerome still exist? Simple. Jerome is not his brother. Not really. Jerome is a wish he had one day when he was very young. A wish that he wanted so much that it came true. But you know what they often say. Be careful what you wish for.
Kudos: 11





	The Entity Known as Jerome

**Author's Note:**

> I had a weird what if thought one night involving one of the twins not being human and this is what came of it. I'm not sure if I will continue this other than a oneshot but if people show an interest in me continuing it I might.

Jerome Valeska had been surprised a lot in his young life. Being broken out of Arkham was pretty surprising. Theo stabbing him in the throat was pretty damn surprising too. Even more surprising was waking up alive again after that, with his face missing. That last one was a doozy. But his situation currently? Not surprising at all.  
He laughed in amusement as he walked around the concrete cell he was in. Jeremiah was so predictable. He wondered what his brother looked like after all these years. He waved at the camera he saw on the wall. He knew that his brother was nervously watching somewhere close. He couldn't wait to see him face to face. He just had to wait for Hathead and Crane to catch up and then he'd go find his dear brother.

Jerome calmly waited in the cell. Before too long he saw the door opening and he saw Jeremiah's little proxy on the other side. He laughed when he saw her vacant hypnotized expression. He put his jacket back on and headed through the labyrinth to find his brother. He ran into his two friends near the exit.

"Thanks for being on time." Jerome said cheerfully. 

"We wouldn't want to be late for this very important date." Jervis said tipping his hat.  
Jerome waited near the exit and had Jervis tell Ecco to bring Jeremiah to him. Jervis and Crane, and Jerome waited out of sight. Eventually Jeremiah rushed to the exit on his own. He looked very relieved, thinking he was going to get away.

"Hello brother." Jerome said in a menacing voice just out of sight. Jeremiah looked very startled. He went to turned around and run the other way but Jervis and Crane came out of hiding and blocked his way. Jerome came out of hiding just as Jeremiah was turning to get away from Crane and Jervis. Miah made a scared little noise when he saw Jerome. 

Jerome stared at his brother grinning madly. "So how you been?" he asked cheerfully. "You look great! To think I used to be the handsome one, right?"

Jeremiah stared at the gun that Jerome was flashing at him. "How did you find your way through the maze?"

"Oh bro." Jerome said getting close to him. "We may not look the same anymore but we still...think the same." he poked Miah in the head when he said the word 'think'. "Plus you used to draw those stupid things all the time as a kid. I paid attention!"

Jerome told Hathead and Crane to go take care of the two cops still in the maze. He wanted to talk to his brother just the two of them. He smiled at his brother. "I've been waiting for this moment for 15 years. Ever since you ran away in the middle of the night like a coward."

"You're insane." Miah said nervously.

"Yeah."

"And I tried telling mom but she wouldn't listen to me. You blame me for everything that's gone wrong. But the truth is...Jerome. You were born bad. You are a monster."

Jerome stared at his brother trying not to give in to his rage. Outwardly, he acted calm. "Born bad? Hmm. So that's why you made her think that I tried to kill you? What was it again? I put a blade to your throat. Nah. I tried to light you on fire."

"We both know you wanted to!" Jeremiah yelled defensively.

"Yeah that was a funny story wasn't it?" Jerome said angry that Miah was actually trying to believe his own lies.

"Ok. Maybe it didn't happen exactly like that." Jeremiah admitted. "But I didn't have a choice and I was right. You killed my mother."

Jerome thought it odd that Miah referred to her as his mother instead of their mother but he didn't say anything about it. "She did deserve it though." Jeremiah couldn't deny that Lila had been a horrible mother. She had barely cared about Jeremiah and didn't care at all about Jerome. She had hated Jerome. She barely hid the fact that she wanted to smother him in his sleep. Eventually it would've happened. So it was sort of self defense in way, him killing her. "After that whore hid you away, she gave up on me. Poisoned by your stories. You turned everyone against me! You abandoned me!"

Jerome calmed down and smiled again. "I guess it's like what they say. We can all go insane with just one bad day. I guess with you its more like one bad spray. You'll see." he laughs madly.

"What are you going to do to me Jerome?" Miah asked nervously.

"Come on. I'm gonna kill ya. Of course." Jerome said simply. "But first...I'm gonna drive you mad. It wont take much for you. And don't worry, you wont be alone. All of Gotham will be joining you too."

"Must go! Must go!" Jervis came screaming down the corridor with Crane not far behind. "They're after me and the Scarecrow!"

Jerome assumed that meant the cops were not far behind. "These guys just don't give up, huh."

They heard Bullock screaming like a Viking warrior running toward them. Jeremiah took advantage of the distraction to try and get away but Jerome grabbed him just in time.

When the cops get there he's got Jeremiah in a headlock and had a gun to his head. He grins at the cops. "Get any closer and I'll splatter him! I'm gonna splatter broski!"

One of the cops spoke up. "No you wont. If you wanted him dead you would've killed him already."

Jerome laughed. "He's right. I'll see you soon." He let Jeremiah go and ran off.

Jerome was pleased when Crane showed him the new gas he made for him. Instead of fear, it caused hysterical madness. It was beautiful. As a side project he had Crane make a special dose of the gas. A gas he planned on using on his brother. One that would make it impossible for his brother to keep lying to himself about his sanity. Jerome knew him better than even he did. He was just as insane as Jerome. He just didn't realize it yet. He was told there would be some interesting unintended cosmetic effects. Jerome thought that would be an extra help in making Miah realize his inner darkness. He couldn't wait. He intended to threaten and scare him in his next 'event' but he didn't want him dead just yet. He still wanted to play with his dear brother. In fact, while Jeremiah was elsewhere, Jerome planned on having a gift sent to Miah's bunker. A gift that would change little Miah's life.

Jerome had the other villains help him kidnap several city officials. He tested his gas on a random official. It really was beautiful to watch her laugh uncontrollably.

Jerome took over a music festival and brought his captives on stage. He threatened the crowd to get Jim Gordon involved. When Gordon got there, he asked for two new captives as an exchange for not blowing up his captives. Bruce Wayne, and his brother, Jeremiah. Eventually Gordon got Bruce and Miah convinced to come out and face him. They started walking towards the stage, when Jerome's lackeys shot the snipers that had him scoped out. He grinned at Jimbo with a knowing smile. "I had my guys take out the best vantage points last night. So they've been watching your little SWAT team all day."

"Come on. Bruce. Brother dear. Come on stage! Its time to get this party really started, huh?"

Bruce and Miah were tie to chairs and had bomb collars placed around their necks. Jerome was in his element. He was playing to the crowd and stalling while he waited for the blimp to arrive. 

"No parent will admit it. But everyone's got their favorites. Right brother?" Jerome looked at Jeremiah who tried not to look at him. Jerome sat down in a chair. "The one who cleans their room, does their homework, doesn't try to kill everybody. Little Mr Perfect here, yeah. He was that guy. He got adopted by rich folks. He went to the top schools, then a top college. Meanwhile, I got dragged through the circus by my depressed, alcoholic mother. Forced to clean up elephant dung every day. Do you know how big those things are, folks? But I know something Mommy and Daddy, they never knew." Jerome gets in Jeremiah's face. "You're as crazy as I am. Its in your DNA. We are the same. We are practically identical." He cut his brother free of the chair he was in. "You are a killer. It's your nature. Stop trying to fight it." Jerome hands Jeremiah his knife and invited him to stab him. Jeremiah thinks about it for a few seconds and then leaps from the chair in a rage, wielding the knife. Jerome laughed and knocked his brother to the floor.

Jerome kicked Jeremiah while he was lying on the floor. "That was so good! I love you!" He looked up very quick when he heard his lackeys being shot around him but before he can do anything, Jim Gordon shot him in the shoulder. Firefly shot flames at Jim to keep him away while Jerome tried to get to his feet to run off. He paused to hit one of the detonator buttons but nothing happened when he pressed it. He kept pressing it frustrated. When he saw Jim heading his way he slid off the stage and took off running. He called the guy in the blimp to get him into position and ran into a building. He rushed up the stairs to get to the roof. He wanted to have a good spot to watch the show. Watching everyone go completely bonkers was going to be so satisfying. He did know that Jim was not far behind him. So it was likely he would not make it off the roof. He wasn't all that upset about that idea. There was still the blimp. And the little gift he sent to Jeremiah's bunker. He hadn't failed. He got to the roof and smiled. He calmly walked over to the edge of the roof and got up onto the railing. He stared down at the people running around below, smiling. At least his plan to show Jeremiah the truth about himself was still going to work. He could die happy, knowing that even though he died, his legacy would live on.

"Hands up!" He heard Jim Gordon behind him. He slowly turned to face him.

"Beautiful isn't she?" Jerome said grinning as he looked up at the blimp that carried the madness toxin he made Crane create. He got out his cellphone. "Just give me a second. Gotta call the pilot, tell him he's in position." Jim Gordon shoots the cellphone out of his hand. "Not cool."

Jerome could faintly hear the blimp pilot still on the phone which was only a few feet away. Jerome laughed. "It doesn't matter. Too late anyway. Bombs away!" He yelled the last bit loud enough that the pilot could hear.

Jim shoots him in the chest. Jerome looked down and laughed even as he was coughing up his own blood. "Funny." Then he fell off the edge.

Jim Gordon rushed over to find Jerome hanging on a pole dangling over a very long drop.

"Quite the dilemma Jim." Jerome said as he hung on for dear life. "Are you gonna let me fall and die..." He grunted in pain. "Or are you gonna pull me up and arrest me? What's it gonna be?" Jerome reached one hand up to Jim wondering if the man will even bother helping him. "A lawman or a murderer?"

Jim reached down with his arm to try and grab his hand. Jerome made a show of trying to reach Jim's hand and then put his hand down out of reach. "Good old Gordon. Always playing by the rules." he laughed. "That's why I'll outlive you. That's why I'm loved, because I don't give a damn about the rules."

"It's a long way down. You sure you'll outlive me?" Gordon said still reaching down trying to get Jerome to grab his hand.

"Oh I'm sure." Jerome said smiling. "Because I'm more than a man. I'm an idea, a philosophy. And I will live on in the shadows within Gotham's discontent." His hands are slipping but he finds he doesn't care. He accepts his imminent demise with calmness. "You'll be seeing me soon. Au revoir." He lets go of the pole and falls to the ground, laughing the whole way down. He hit a car and everything went dark. But not totally dark.

Jerome thought he'd stop existing after he died or go to some fiery landscape for eternity. But the empty darkness he floated in was nothing like he expected. For one, he was still aware of himself. He could still think. But all he could see was an inky darkness. It was just like last time he died. It was so boring last time and he figured this time would be no different. But this time it did feel a bit different. He could vaguely hear muted voices around him. He hadn't heard them last time. But he couldn't understand what they were saying so it wasn't likely to make him any less bored. At one point he could suddenly feel what almost felt like pain in a body that he couldn't even see or move around anymore. It was like someone was opening his body up like a book. And his head felt a bit odd at one point like someone was rifling around in his brain. But he didn't have a brain anymore did he? Or a body for that matter. But then the odd sensations stopped and he went back to not feeling anything. He just floated there awhile thinking about various things. Thinking about the chaos he managed. Thinking about his brother. It had been a very emotional moment for Jerome to see his brother after so long. He had missed Jeremiah so much. He spent his time thinking about him. Then he saw something in the darkness. He saw his brother standing there. But it was his brother when he was only a little boy. The way Jeremiah looked just then felt very familiar to Jerome and seemed important but he couldn't think why. He floated over to the boy. The boy was staring at him with a look he hadn't seen on his brothers face in a long time. A look that made him feel wanted. He stared at the silent motionless form of his brother for awhile. After a little bit he looked away from the image of his brother and smiled. He had just remembered something very important. He laughed maniacally.

  
Jeremiah came back to his bunker very tired. So many things had happened. Watching Jerome die for a second time made him feel several different feelings at once. He would never admit it, but he didn't hate Jerome. He still cared very deeply for Jerome. But he couldn't deny that the world would be much safer without Jerome in it. He would at least feel safer now. He just hoped that he would stay dead this time. He noticed a wrapped gift on his desk. How had that gotten there? He walked over to the curious gift and looked at the label. It said it was from Wayne Enterprises. Oh. Bruce Wayne had said he wanted to fund Jeremiah's generator project. He seemed rather interested in it. Perhaps he is just trying butter him up a bit to get him to agree to have Bruce fund him. He was rather flattered. Bruce was willing to help him with his project and that definitely gave him a good feeling. He felt he had found a friend. He opened the gift to find a small colorful box. How odd. He unlatched the lid of the box and it was revealed to be a jack in the box. The clown head popped out of the box laughing its high pitched laugh. He had only a moment to look at it with a worried frown before it shot a gas at his face. He reeled back, his mind spinning. His face itched. His eyes hurt. He shook his head trying unsuccessfully to clear it. He heard as if from far away a recording of his brother inside the jack in the box talking about how the gas was a special mixture just for him. What had Jerome sprayed him with? Jeremiah's mind was overwhelmed. He passed out.

When Jeremiah returned to consciousness, he felt a bit odd. He was lying on the couch in his workroom. Someone had moved him, since he vaguely remembered falling to the floor. He noticed Ecco in the room staring at him with concern. "Jeremiah. Are you ok? Did Jerome do this to you?" 

Jeremiah sat up confused. "He sprayed me with a gas but I'm not sure it did anything. I don't feel all that different."

"You look different. Look in the mirror." Ecco said worried.

"What? Did it do something to my face?" Jeremiah looked concerned. He rushed to a mirror and stared with wide eyes at the face in the mirror. A face he barely recognized. His skin was now chalk white, all except for dark circles under his eyes and red lips. His eyes were the biggest difference. They were an almost unnatural color. He also noticed that he could see. But his glasses had been taken off and put on the desk. The gas had fixed his eyes and bleached his skin. He just stared at his face for a long while not knowing what to think. "Why did Jerome do this?"  
Jeremiah sat at his desk staring out at nothing for awhile. He barely even acknowledged Ecco's presence in the room. She just stared at him with a concerned look.

"I'm fine, Ecco. Just fine. Jerome got me with a special gas. But it doesn't seem to be doing much besides the obvious changes to my face. His gas must've failed."

"Well that's a relief." Ecco said, not entirely convinced.

"You can go now. I'll be fine. I suppose you should pick up some flesh colored makeup and colored contacts though. Soon. I'll have to meet with Bruce soon to talk about my generator project and I don't want to frighten him by my current appearance. Oh and take my glasses and have the lens changed with regular plastic. It seems one positive outcome from the gas is that it fixed my poor vision."

"Anything you need, Jeremiah." She said, with a serious look on her face. 

Over the next few weeks Jeremiah and Bruce met a few times to discuss his generator project. The boy was very interested in his work, and called him brilliant. That really flattered Jeremiah, being complemented like that. He found himself considering Bruce like a good friend. One of the only friends he's ever really had in awhile.

Bruce even helped him with funeral arrangements for his brother. People thought it odd that Jeremiah even cared what happened to Jerome's body but he figured it was the least he could do for Jerome to properly bury him. And it gave a sense of finality that he desperately needed. He couldn't attend the funeral himself. He convinced himself he was too busy but to be honest he was still scared. He kept imagining Jerome clawing his way out of his grave. Bruce understood and stayed with him in his bunker the day of the funeral.

Jeremiah had received Jerome's belongings from Arkham. One of the belongs was a diary. He started reading it. Jerome had written down all his deranged plans. Plans that Jerome never pulled off. Jeremiah found himself wanting to prove that he could accomplish what his brother could not and he'd do it because he was sane. Because that's how Jerome failed. He was insane, unable to think rationally. Jeremiah on the other hand was nothing but sane and rational. He started planning. Soon he had some rather big plans. Plans to show Gotham that Jerome was just a dud. A meaningless shadow. Ecco was completely on board for his plans. She was loyal till the end, no matter what his plans were.

"You need to get at least one of the Jerome fanatics secretly on board with our plans. Preferably one with some sway over the others." Jeremiah said looking down at some diagrams.

"Whatever you say Jeremiah." Ecco said dropping off more flesh colored makeup that Jeremiah went through rather quickly. Then she left him alone in the room.

Jeremiah was so busy finalizing his plans that it took him a few moments to notice the rather familiar maniacal laughter behind him.

"Well I guess I don't have to wonder now if Crane's gas worked or not. Because its obvious it did." Jerome said behind him in an amused voice.

Jeremiah whirled around and saw Jerome leaning up against the wall, grinning his ear to ear grin and appearing very much alive.  
Jeremiah stared at him shocked. "You're alive. How? I saw you fall."

"Oh brother... you of all people ought to know it would take much more than that to kill me. A little fall off a building is nothing to something like me. But the jolt did make me remember a few things. Some rather important things. So I suppose I should thank Jimbo next time I see him. Anyway. Nice new look. I like it. Crane told me that might be a side effect."

"Your gas failed. I'm perfectly fine. Just a mild cosmetic effect and nothing else. You've failed Jerome." Jeremiah said in a partially monotone voice.

Jerome laughed. "Right. You are totally sane. I can definitely see that." He said sarcastically.

"Why didn't you just kill me? Why go to the trouble of gassing me?" Jeremiah asked.

"I never really wanted to kill you. I may have thought I did but deep down we both know that would've never happened. But the gas was necessary. I did it because you're a liar. You lied to your mother about me. You almost believed your lies yourself after awhile. But the worst lie, the one that makes me angry with you, is that you don't think you are just as mad as me. You know how ridiculous that is? Now that I remember things, I know the truth about you. I always sort of did, even if I didn't know how I knew. How could you Miah? How could you show so little care for me after all I've done for you?" Jerome looked a little bit hurt when he said it. "You make me very sad dear brother."

"You're not my brother!" Jeremiah yelled before he could stop himself.

Jerome grinned wider. "No. I'm not, am I? Not really. But I might as well have been. You wanted me to be your brother. So I was your brother."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Nice try. Don't try to deny it. I remember what I am. Can you remember when we first met? I remember. In that little cave." Jerome said smiling.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Flashback to when Jeremiah is 7

The other kids in the circus never played with little Jeremiah. They thought the bookish bespectacled redheaded boy odd. He was very intelligent for a kid his age and that made other kids think he was weird. He was very lonely. He didn't have any brothers or sisters. And his mom said she had her tubes tied. So no chance of any future siblings. He wanted a sibling. More than anything. Someone that he could confide in. Someone that could protect him. He was currently hiding in a cave he found not far from the circus grounds. His uncle looked very drunk and he knew if the man saw him, he would be used as a punching bag. He cried. He wished he had a friend.

Not far from where the boy was, a formless entity hid in the shadows inside the cave. It had hidden in that cave for longer than it remembered. It couldn't really figure out the world outside the cave. So many fascinating feelings in the creatures that lived there. Their thoughts were so complex at times and at other times so primitive. All of it was fascinating. But it was also overwhelming. So it hid in the cave. It wasn't really sure what it was itself. It didn't really remember ever meeting any other beings like it. And it didn't really remember where it came from. All it knew was it was alone and didn't belong there. It wasn't entirely aware of itself as a human would be aware of itself. It was formless and therefore didn't have the same sense of personality and self as any other sentient creature. But it could still feel. And it felt so alone. Until it felt something in the cave with it. A small red haired creature was inside the cave. The feelings that came from the boy were so interesting. The inside of the boy's head was so fascinating. His thoughts were complex and like a maze the entity could happily get lost in. The boy wanted something. Wanted it more than anything. That want called to the entity. It moved close to the boy curiously.

Jeremiah was wiping his tears when he saw the shadowy wisp float in front of him. He thought he should be scared of it but all it did was float in front of him as if it was curious about him. It was like a little floating ball of wispy shadow. And it seemed intelligent. Curious even. As curious of him as he was of it. It floated around him like a little shadowy comet, almost like it was investigating him. He stared at it in wonder. What was it? He had never seen or heard of such a creature. Oh he had heard normal childhood stories of monsters under the bed and things watching you from the dark but he knew those were just stories. This was very real. It suddenly stopped right in front of him and started forming itself into a very shadowy humanoid shape. There was no detail. Just a shadow. He waved at it. It waved back. He backed up startled. It also backed up the same way. Was it copying him? He waved his arms around to make sure. The shadow moved its arms around too. Jeremiah smiled at it, amused that it would copy him. It copied a few more things he did. It seemed to almost stare at him curiously. Like he was one of the most fascinating things ever. The shadow didn't seem malicious. Just curious. Jeremiah felt a bit less lonely with it around and it didn't seem like it felt like leaving. He spent several hours with it, talking to it like a friend. It actually seemed to listen. It sat with him in its shadow person form listening to him talk. But whenever he would get emotional about something, the entity would shift back into its wispy floating ball form and float around him as if sniffing him and then it would gradually float back to its spot on the ground where it would land and turn back into the shadow person to continue listening and sometimes copying his actions. He saw it was getting dark outside so he told it he'd be back tomorrow.

The next day Jeremiah went back to the cave. He hoped his strange new friend would be back. And it was. It almost looked happy to see him. It floated around him happily and then shifted into its shadow form to wave at him in greeting exactly like Jeremiah had waved yesterday. Every day that the circus was in that spot he would spend his days in that cave talking to his new friend. The entity seemed happy to have the company and would listen to him for hours just sitting there across from him in shadow form. 

The day came when the circus was packing up to move on. Jeremiah was distraught. If they left, then he wouldn't see his strange friend anymore. He headed to the cave in a very bad mood. The entity looked worried when it saw him looking so sad. It had come out of hiding when it saw him in its shadow form but it changed into wisp form and floated around the boy curious at all the sad emotions when it saw him. 

"I'm sorry. The circus is leaving today. I'm probably not going to see you again." Jeremiah said starting to cry. "It's not fair! You listen! You actually want me around! And I have to say goodbye."

The entity didn't know how to cheer up the boy. It continued to float around the boy curiously, ever so often floating close to his face which was covered in tears now. It didn't really seem to understand what crying was and seemed to find it fascinating. 

"I never had a friend before you. None of the other kids like me. You were the only thing that's ever been nice to me. Not even my mom likes me. I wish I had a brother. Or a sister. So I didn't have to deal with her alone. I wish you could come with us. Can you even leave this cave?"

When Jeremiah said his wish, he said it with such strong emotion that it changed something inside the entity. It felt different as if something was growing inside of it. It floated to the floor and just sat there for a few moments. Jeremiah looked at it wondering why it was just sitting there. And then the entity changed back into the shadow figure and stood up to stand in front of Jeremiah. He stared at it as it seemed to change. It seemed to ripple. It went from being a black shadow figure to a being of swirling colors. What Jeremiah saw when it all stopped, shocked him. It was like looking in a mirror. The shadow was no longer a shadow. It was a boy that looked just like him, right down to the clothes he was wearing and his glasses. The boy smiled at him. Jeremiah could see a few differences. The boys clothes were slightly different colors than his. And there was the look on his face. He looked like he was uncertain how to act human. But those were the only differences. When he moved, the boy moved with him, like a mirror. He thought the boy might only be capable of copying him but the boy stopped copying him and stared at him with his head to the side curiously.

"Am I your brother now?" The boy asked in a slightly unsure voice.

"What?" Jeremiah asked confused.

"Am I your brother? Is that what you want me to be?" the boy asked still staring at Jeremiah curiously.

Jeremiah thought about it. He walked around the boy that looked just like him. The boy that until just then had been a shadow creature he had made friends with. The boy looked human enough. He poked him a few times. He seemed like he was really there. It seemed like actual human skin he was poking on the boy's arm. His brother? He had told it he wished he had a sibling. And here it was turning into a copy of him and asking if it was his brother. Was it trying to grant his wish? He had to admit he really did want a brother. And the idea of a twin sounded amazing. He came to a decision.

"Yeah. You are my brother. You're my twin brother." He told the boy in front of him with hope in his eyes.

The boy smiled slightly vacantly. "What's my name?"

Jeremiah thought for a little bit. He wanted a J name. Since he heard that twins often had names with the same first letter. He finally settled on a name. "Jerome. It's Jerome."

The boy smiled wider when hearing the name. "Jerome." 

"Yeah." Jeremiah said, still not quite believing his eyes. "Are you real? Are you really going to be my brother? Are you going to stay with me?"

"Yes. Of course. I would do anything for my brother." the boy now called Jerome said.

Jeremiah smiled, very happy to hear that. He talked all about all the stuff he could show his new brother. He spent the whole morning with Jerome, chatting happily. He tried asking Jerome questions about what he was and where he was from but it seemed Jerome couldn't answer those questions. He just looked confused when he was asked. It didn't bother Jeremiah though. He didn't care where it came from. It was here now and it was his brother. Jeremiah was so happy that he didn't stop to consider how he would explain his new twin brother to his family and all the other carnies. That is until his uncle found him in the cave. He looked up at his angry uncle, trying to figure out a way to explain Jerome to his uncle. His uncle looked at Jerome for a few moments, eyes wide with confusion, and then the look went away like it had never been there. 

"There you two are. Have you two been in this cave all morning? Typical. You think you can skip out on helping pack up? You are lucky I don't have the time to knock some sense into both of you. Get out here now! We have the trucks ready to go. We are heading out." He turned around and walked out of sight. 

Jeremiah was confused. Why did his uncle act as if it was normal for him to have an identical twin? He walked out of the cave and headed to his mother's truck. Jerome followed behind him silently.

Lila looked at them with an odd look on her face and looked about to say something. And then, like his uncle, the look slipped off her face as if it was never there. "There you are. Little brats. Get in the truck. Jerome you're in the back. Don't fight me about it. I'm not in the mood."

"Yes mother." Jerome said, getting into the cramped backseat of the truck. 

Lila looked at Jeremiah. "Aren't you going to get in the truck? Why are you just standing there?"

Jeremiah got in the truck. He didn't have a car seat. His mom never cared to buy one. So he buckled the seat belt that was way too big for him and sat there wondering whether or not Jerome was manipulating his family's memories to insert himself in. That was convenient. He kept sneaking a peek at Jerome behind him while they were on the road. Jerome still had a slightly vacant unfinished look to him. But his mother didn't seem to notice. She treated Jerome like she treated Jeremiah. Like he was her unwanted son. 

That night, when they stop for the night, Jeremiah curled up in his small bed in their trailer. Jerome shared the bed with him. He stared at the identical boy lying next to him asleep. The boy had laid there staring at him until he told him to go to sleep, and then the boy had closed his eyes and appeared to go to sleep. He looked at Jerome sleeping. The boy had taken off the glasses he had appeared with at some point and they had gotten lost somewhere. But it seemed as though Jerome could see just fine without them. He wondered if the glasses would just cease to exist after awhile since they weren't with the creature anymore. He didn't really care though since he actually preferred the boy not wearing them. It made them look slightly different than him. It was lucky he had two pairs of pjs so he could share with Jerome. He could also wear his clothes since they were the same size. He wondered why Jerome seemed so unfinished and uncertain how to act. He thought about it for awhile. He came to the conclusion that maybe when he wished for a brother, he hadn't specified what he wanted his brother to be like. He spent the next few hours late into the night thinking about what he'd like in a brother. He wanted a strong brother. A brother that could fight off any bully that got near them and could protect him from his uncle and his mother. One that was confident and clever. But a more normal kind of clever. Not his kind that involved book smarts and random useless facts. A street smarts kind of clever. He wanted one that had a great sense of humor and was never boring. And he wanted one that would stick by him and listen to whatever he wanted to talk about. He fell asleep thinking about it all.

Jeremiah woke up to Jerome shaking him awake. "Wake up. Come on. Geez Miah, You are not a morning person." 

"Jerome?"

"Yeah, bro. Its me. Why do you sound so surprised?" Jerome said amused. "You better get up soon or mom will have your hide. I'm just giving you a heads up." He walked away. Jeremiah got up and pulled on some clothes. He saw Jerome sitting there on the small couch waiting for him. "You ready to go get some breakfast? We should go soon so we don't miss out. Why are you looking at me like that?"

Jeremiah stared at Jerome. Jerome seemed to be acting like a perfectly normal human kid. "Jerome. You seem really normal today. I'm impressed you picked up on human emotions so fast."

Jerome laughed. "That's a funny joke. You act like I'm a space alien."

"But you are an alien. Aren't you?"

"Is this a game or something? Its a bit odd of you to play lets pretend. I mean you never really want to play that with me usually. But if you want to pretend we can. It could be fun." Jerome said smiling. It was like he didn't remember what he was. 

During the rest of the day, Jerome's actions made it clear that Jerome didn't remember a life before the circus. He seemed completely oblivious of the fact that he wasn't human and hadn't spent his whole life in the circus with Jeremiah. Jeremiah was so happy. His most desperate wish had come true. He had a brother! And Jerome was exactly what he wanted. He was really strong. Really brave. Extremely protective of him. And made him laugh. 

Over the next few months, Jeremiah grew more and more comfortable with having Jerome there with him. It seemed as if everyone at the circus now had no idea there hadn't always been two Valeska boys. That made him so happy. He hoped that meant that Jerome wasn't going anywhere. That this was permanent. He didn't care if Jerome wasn't really human. Jerome was his brother now and that's all that mattered. He grew very close to him. He could talk to Jerome about anything. And his twin would listen and not treat him like he was weird. It was a dream come true.

One night Jeremiah's mother was very drunk. He was worried she would get violent, like she usually did. Sure enough she got angry at a random thing and started to hit Jeremiah. He cried and begged her to stop. Then Jerome appeared. He yelled at Lila. Called her names. Riled her up. He effectively turned her attention to him instead. Jeremiah scrambled away as he watched his mother beat Jerome instead. Soon, every time his mother or uncle seemed ready to beat him in some way, Jerome was redirecting their violence towards himself. He did it without complaint.

"I'm a few minutes older than you, Miah." Jerome said when asked why he would do all that for Jeremiah. "I have to look out for my little brother. That's my job. Don't worry about it. I can handle a little pain. Anything for my brother. You are the only thing I care about, Miah."

  
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"You were the only thing I cared about. I protected you. Listened to you. Loved you. Because you wanted it that way. And what did I get in return? I got betrayed. I got abandoned. You lied to everyone and said I was hurting you. I would've never hurt you. I can't. And you knew that. But you lied...in order to leave the circus and have a better life. You sacrificed your little pet monster to your abusive family to get what you wanted. But the worst thing you did, the absolute worst, was you lying to yourself about it. Trying to convince yourself that I was violent and unpredictable to make it seem like you leaving was the only option and that it wasn't just you being selfish. We are connected, Miah. We have a bond. I am only what you want me to be. You wanted me to be violent and unpredictable to confirm to yourself that you were justified in leaving and then hiding. So I was violent and unpredictable. Even if I didn't realize at the time why I did the things I did, I knew instinctively that your logic and claims of sanity were all lies. And I wanted nothing more than to wave it in your face that you were wrong. I know I'm right. Because I remember the truth now. My species can only mirror what it sees and what the creature it bonds with wants. I may not know much about what I am but I know that. I can't be a madman causing chaos wherever I go if you aren't also a madman. Its not possible. I understand that it may not have been a conscious thing for you. But it was in there. I instinctively knew it wouldn't take much to draw it out. That gas I had Crane make? That emo teen was pretty confused when I said I wanted it to be very mild. But anything more powerful would be overkill. Let it fester within you. Changing you over time. Making you who you were always meant to be."

"You want me to be a monster like you? Never. I wont lower myself to your level. You're wrong. I am sane. I'm saner than I've ever been." Jeremiah said defiantly.

Jerome laughed. "A monster like me? More like I'm a monster like you. This is really hilarious. You know how ironic you sound when you call yourself saner than you've ever been?" Jerome turned around for a few seconds and when he turned back around his face looked exactly the same as the face he had seen in the mirror lately. The chalk white face. A face that was currently grinning madly at him. Jerome's clothes shifted into a stylish purple and orange outfit that seemed like a reversal of the orange suit with green shirt and purple tie Jeremiah loved to wear. "Face it 'brother'. You cant run from your own reflection." Jerome laughed maniacally in such a way that seemed to get into Jeremiah's head a little.

"Its a lie. I am sane. I will prove it to you." Jeremiah insisted weakly.

"You don't really believe that though, do you?" Jerome said grinning at him. "I am undeniable proof and you know it. You just don't want to admit it. You don't want to admit you poured every little deranged thought out of your head and into mine. And I ran with it. But now its your turn. I'm giving back every little negative and deranged thought and feeling you ever gave to me. Enjoy."

Jeremiah couldn't deny the truth standing right in front of him. His 'brother' could never lie to him. And it had never done anything when he was a child, that he didn't want it to do. Why did he think that would be different when he was older? But the entity wasn't completely harmless to him. He had grown rather comfortable with being normal. With not being tormented with strange thoughts and obsessions. He didn't want all those thoughts and feelings back. He realized that they had started coming back ever since Jerome fell off the building. "I'm sorry. You were the only thing in my life that truly cared unconditionally. And I mistreated and used you. Please take them back. I just want to be normal."

"Except you aren't sorry. Not really. You acknowledge that you should feel sorry that you twisted me into this, but you can't feel the actual emotion behind it. Think about it. Do you actually feel any guilt about anything? Or is all that just what you think you should feel?" Jerome said simply. He didn't look angry with him. It was like he was just stating a fact.

Jeremiah really thought about it. And he came to the realization that Jerome was right. The emotion wasn't there. He honestly didn't care. He did feel a strong emotional bond to the creature in front of him. But he didn't feel any guilt in mistreating it. 

"It's ok. I understand. At least you acknowledge it now. And I'm not going anywhere. I can still be exactly what you want me to be. Just don't ignore me anymore." Jerome said.  
Jeremiah didn't say anything. He just stared at Jerome. Jerome was still sporting his pale face and the purple suit. Jeremiah had missed Jerome so much. Even though he had been afraid that the creature would hurt or kill him after what he did to it. Looking back he realized how ridiculous that was. The creature couldn't hurt him because of the bond they had. Over the years he had missed having a brother and he found that he didn't really want Jerome to leave. Jerome grinned a pleased grin when he had that thought, a reminder that the creature could read his mind.

"That's what I thought." Jerome shifted back into his normal cut up face and a stylish black suit with yellow tie. He leans against the desk and smirks at his brother.

"A black suit? Black isn't really your style is it?" Jeremiah said relaxing and going back to planning.

Jerome looked down at what he was wearing. He shrugged. "Its just what the morticians put me in I guess."

"Speaking of that, did you claw your way out of your grave? Is it going to be obvious that you're back?" Jeremiah asked. That would effect his plans quite a bit. Oh who was he kidding? Jerome coming back meant he would have to alter his entire plan.

"That would be entertaining to pull a night of the living dead on some poor gravedigger, but no." Jerome said amused. "Since I remembered I'm not really human, I don't have the same limitations a human has. I just misted out of the coffin. The grave and headstone are still in place like nothing happened. You don't actually have to change your plans too much. I can just mist back into the grave until those fanatics of mine dig me up."

"I suppose this will make it easier to convince a Jerome fanatic to help me. You can talk to them for me." Jeremiah said.

"Then you should catch Ecco before she leaves so you can tell how the plans are going to change. And as far as lackeys go, I'd recommend Jongleur. He was one of the ones to step up after I blew up Dwight and helped keep the cult organized, as much as a cult of deranged lunatics can be organized anyway. He's your best bet in getting the others to do what you say." Jerome said.

Jeremiah called Ecco, who had not left yet thankfully. She entered the room. "What do you need, Jeremiah? You said your were altering your plans a bit?" She didn't seem to see Jerome in the room. It was like he was invisible. Jeremiah noticed that and looked at Jerome curiously.

"Ecco, I want you to bring a specific Jerome fanatic here. His name is Jongleur I'm told. He will be easily convinced to help pull off my plan." Jeremiah said. "I can give you the details of where he is likely to be."

"Sure thing." Ecco said.

"Also I wont need help with the recordings we need to make. I can do them myself."

"How? The prosthetics are hard to put on by yourself. And you want to be convincing as Jerome." Ecco asked confused.

"Don't question me Ecco. I have an easier way to make those recordings. Just go get Jongleur." Jeremiah said irritated.

"Sorry. I'll have him here real quick." She left really quickly. She didn't like when her boss was irritated at her.

Jerome spoke up after she left. "Kinda unnecessary to pretend to be someone if you have the real thing, isn't it?"

"She didn't see you. You were right there, and she didn't see you." Jeremiah said curious.

"Well duh. You didn't want her to see me. So she didn't. If you want people to see me they will. I'm not a ghost or a hallucination if that's what you're worried about. I'm still me." Jerome said rolling his eyes and poking Jeremiah to prove he was still a corporeal being.

Jongleur was in the middle of drinking himself to an early grave. Despite the cult being formed while Jerome was still dead the first time, Jongleur didn't see how it would survive Jerome's second death. Jerome always talked about the fact that he was an idea. A concept rather than a person. So his death shouldn't change much about the cult. But Jongleur thought it likely would. The whole point that the scattered Jerome fans gathered together to form the cult in the first place was because Dwight had said he could bring him back. Jongleur doubted that would work a second time. Jerome was dead. The party was over. He found that he didn't know what to do with himself without Jerome. He had had a good thing going. The other cultists respected him. Jerome even said he liked him once. That was a very good day. But now... it was all over. He doubted he could keep the cultists organized all by himself. He was so deep in thought and brooding that he almost didn't notice the knock on his apartment door. He sighed. It was probably one of the cultists trying to ask him what they were going to do next. He wished they would just leave him alone to grieve. He went up to the door and wrenched it open with the intention to tell whoever it was to shove off, but he noticed an unfamiliar figure in front of him. It looked like a black jester with a mask. He stood there confused. Was she a new cult member? He had never seen her before. But before he could ask her who she was, she knocked him out.

When Jongleur came to, he could hear muffled talking not far from him. He was lying on something soft. He kept his eyes shut. Maybe he had drank too much because he could've sworn that one of the voices belonged to Jerome, but it sounded different, an almost monotone that actually scared him a bit.

"I'm not convinced. He's completely drunk. Am I really supposed to rely on him?" the monotone voice said. 

"Granted that's a lot worse state than the guy is usually in. As far as I know. But yeah. And to be fair the guy has just lost his idol. Cut him a little slack." A voice that sounded exactly like Jerome responded to the monotone voice. Jongleur sat up in shock at hearing Jerome. But when he opened his eyes, all he saw was one person in the room besides himself. And it wasn't Jerome. The man had pale white skin and red lips. And unnatural looking eyes that seemed to ooze madness. Jongleur had to admit the man kind of scared him. 

"Who are you? Where am I?" Jongleur got up and looked around. He was in a concrete room that looked like a work room. He had been on a couch in the corner of the room.

"Really? You don't who I am? My face doesn't look that different." the man said with a slight smile.

When Jongleur really looked at the man he noticed that the facial structure was indeed familiar. The guy looked like Jerome, except no scars. "You're Jeremiah. Jerome's brother. Oh..." Jongleur smirked.

"At least Jerome's gas worked. He would be so pleased. That was one of his main goals. To drive you insane."

"He was already insane. Miah just needed a good push in the right direction." He heard a very familiar scratchy voice behind him. His eyes went wide and he whirled around. There standing behind him was Jerome, grinning his usual grin. 

"Jerome?" Jongleur managed to whisper. "How?" 

"Its complicated. But to summarize, it would take a lot more than a gunshot and a fall off a building to kill me." Jerome said.

"I knew there was something more to you than met the eye. I knew you were special, Jerome." Jongleur said with a misty eyed smile. The man looked shocked but very pleased to see his idol alive and well. "Just wait till the cult finds out you're alive. They'll be thrilled. We'll have to throw a party or something."

"They're not going to be finding out quite yet. Right now, let Gotham think I'm dead. That will make things so much more satisfying when people find out the truth." Jerome said laughing. "So lets keep it between us ok?"

"You have something big planned don't you?" Jongleur said starstruck. "I will do whatever you need me to do. Any plan of yours is always epic."

"I like your enthusiasm but its Miah's plan. I'm just along for the ride. But you won't be disappointed." Jerome said. "Anyway, we need your help with something."

"I need you to organize a party for your little cult friends. A memorial of sorts for your fallen leader, Jerome. I will give you the details of when and where later. But I need a distraction. And I need the cult still in operation for the time being." Jeremiah said, still in monotone with a small smile on his face.

Jongleur wondered why Jerome's brother was suddenly calling the shots instead of Jerome, but didn't say anything. To be honest, the guy kind of scared him with his monotone voice and weird face.

A few days later, Jongleur had printed out several invitations to a small memorial party for Jerome at the cemetery for the cultists and had them handed out. He wasn't sure what the ultimate plan was but he knew one of the last parts of it involved several bombs around the city. That excited him. 

The night of the party, the cultists that were invited all gathered at the cemetery around Jerome's grave.

"Brothers and sisters, let's raise a glass to our fallen leader. To Jerome." Jongleur said raising his glass.

"To Jerome!" the cultists all said. They all looked sad. Jongleur wanted to cheer them up. To tell them the truth. But he couldn't just yet. He did his best to act sad himself. He took a drink, gargled a little and spit it at Jerome's grave respectfully. The cultists repeated his action.

Suddenly he heard the sound of a moped approaching. The same black jester that had knocked him out a few days ago was on it. He pretended not to know who she was. Technically it wasn't a lie. He didn't know who she was under all that. But he knew she was there for a reason even if the rest of the cultists didn't.

The jester got off the moped and walked silently up to them with a megaphone in her hand.

"This affair is invitation only." Jongleur said. She shrugged, which caused the bells on her jester hat to jingle. The cultists laughed. "Well that's alright. You're welcome to stay." Jongleur said smiling and getting out his knives. He was told to act like he didn't know her. So he'd have to act a bit hostile to someone not invited to the party. "But you won't be leaving." He threw a knife at her, deliberately making it hit the megaphone when she raised it. It looked to the cultists like she blocked it when really Jongleur purposefully missed.

The jester pressed a button on the megaphone which caused it to emit a loud sound briefly. The cultists all held their ears in pain. Then she took out a tape recorder and held it up to the megaphone.  
On the recording was Jerome's voice. "Why so sad, bozos? Did you think they could get rid of me so easily?"

The cultists stared in pleased shock at their fallen leader's voice.

"Well, ok. So they did. I'm dead. But let's not dwell on the negatives. I have one last party to throw."

The cultists all grinned happily at each other while they listened. They laughed pleased at it all.

"First on the to-do list... Dig me up. Dig me up!"

The cultists all turned and started digging at Jerome's grave frantically, laughing madly.

"You heard him! Come on clowns! Dig him up!" Jongleur said enthusiastically. Inwardly he wondered what they would find. Jerome was alive so who was in the grave? "Get Jerome! We're gonna to dig you up, Jerome!"

The jester watched them silently as they dug the grave up. She had turned off the recording. Likely, Jerome would have more instructions recorded for them after they were finished digging up his grave.

When the coffin was visible they all stared at it for a moment. None of them wanted to see Jerome as a rotting corpse. Jongleur was curious though if there would even be a corpse in the coffin. When they opened the coffin, Jongleur was very surprised to see a corpse that looked very much like Jerome lying dead in the coffin. Weird. Maybe the twins made up a random corpse to look like him. That must be it. They all stared at the corpse reverently. Jongleur looked back at the jester to see what they should do next. 

The jester pressed the button on the tape recorder again to start it up again.

"Good job. I'm probably not in very good shape in there am I? Sorry about that. Anyway, next up...I'm going to need you all to grab me out of there and for now, hide my body in a nearby crypt. Do whatever you want with the coffin. Later I'll have you do something special with my corpse. That will all be explained. It's all part of a bigger plan. Come on. Get to it."

They moved the corpse to the nearby crypt. When they all came back the jester turned on the last bit of recording.

"Ok. You'll like this next part. I want you to go over to the GCPD central station and borrow it to throw a nice little wake for me. The lovely lady in front of you will give you a piece of paper to tell you when exactly this needs to go down. I'm dead after all so this is all for you. Have fun with it. And make me proud, my little crazies! Sianara."

The jester handed Jongleur a piece of paper and then got back on her moped and drove away. He looked at the paper. It had the time that they needed to be at the GCPD and some extra details about stuff they needed to do here at the cemetery later. It was all in Jerome's handwriting. He smiled. This was going to be fun.

Jeremiah had Ecco send a nice little gift box to the GCPD the next day. Inside was a video tape. Jim Gordon reluctantly decided to watch the tape. The entity known as Jerome hid in plain sight inside the room watching how Jimbo reacted to the video. It was handy to not be visible unless he wanted to be visible. He wasn't sure if that ability would last or not. It was likely connected to everyone's belief that he was dead so when he revealed the truth the ability to be invisible would likely go away. So he was going to use it as much as he could while he had it. Miah wanted him to give him all the details of how the cops reacted and Jerome didn't have to be back at the cemetery until later to go back to pretending to be a corpse.

When the cops started watching the video, the one named Bullock asked if Jerome could still be alive.

"What were the autopsy results, Lucius?" asked Jimbo.

"Dead when he came in, more dead when he was eviserated and his brain was sliced up." the forensics guy said. Jerome chuckled silently in the corner. That explained the vague feeling of pain and the slightly odd feeling he had gotten in his head at one point while he was still in that darkness. He was fairly certain that they hadn't needed to slice his brain up for an autopsy. They had likely just done that to make sure he couldn't be revived a second time. Boy were they going to be surprised.

The video showed him smiling at the camera. "Hello Jimmy." The Jerome on the video said cheerfully. "If you're watching this, things must not have gone well for me. Oh shucks!" 

Jim looked a bit relieved when he realized it was a posthumans recording of Jerome instead of him somehow coming back from the dead a second time.

"I can only pray, I gave as good as I got and left ample carnage in my wake." the recording Jerome said before dramatically putting his hands together like he was praying. Then he looked up again cheerfully. "But I don't want to fixate on disappointments. Jimmy, I have one last teensy request for you. I want you to throw me a wake...at the GCPD." Jerome said grinning menacingly. "Don't worry about the guest list. I've already sent the invitations." He laughed maniacally.

"I don't like the sound of that." Bullock said. All of them looked very concerned. And then they heard some muffled noises outside the station. Jim looked outside and saw a large group of cultists gathering outside. One of them, who seemed to lead them, was juggling knives. The cops looked very worried and started locking everything down. The cultists started banging on the front door, trying to get in. And then a car with the coffin arrived. Jerome looked outside and noticed that his cultists had gotten rather creative with the coffin and were getting ready to use it as a battering ram. He looked back at Jimbo, who was currently on the phone with Brucie's butler it seemed who was likely telling him that Bruce was at Jeremiah's at the moment. Jerome grinned. He started making his way to the front. He needed to leave soon, but he did want to watch as the cultists managed to get inside the station. He sat on a desk, still completely unseen by all the cops there, and waited with a deranged smile on his face. Some of these cops were likely going to die very soon. He listened to Jim plan on how to deal with the cultists. He had to admit he was a clever cop. The doors burst open and the cultists streamed inside, while the cops took up defensive positions. Jongleur went after Jim. Jerome wanted to stay longer to watch the chaos but he had to head back to the cemetery. He still had to pretend to be a corpse. He walked out the door extremely happy that things seemed to be going so well.

Back at Jeremiah's bunker, Bruce was with Jeremiah, watching as Jeremiah powered up his prototype generator. He had Bruce switch off the power and then switched his generator on and it powered up his entire bunker. Bruce was very impressed. He was very excited about the fact that with all the prototypes Jeremiah had had constructed back at Wayne labs, they could power all of Gotham. Without the costs associated with most powerplants.

"You've kept this project a secret, yes?" Jeremiah asked Bruce. He had told Bruce he didn't want the publicity. Bruce had understood. 

"No one outside of Wayne Industries knows it exists." Bruce said.

"It's the ones that are closest to you that you have to keep your eye on." Jeremiah said to Bruce in a very serious tone. "I know that better than anyone."

Jeremiah decided to start his little game. He let Bruce know that Arkham had sent him Jerome's diary. He talked about reading it and made himself sound just a little obsessed with it. Just enough to make Bruce realize that something might be up.

"Maybe you shouldn't spend so much time reading it." Bruce said concerned.

"He was obsessed with torturing and murdering me, James Gordon, and you. And if he had been just the least bit sane, he would've destroyed us all. And Gotham would be in ruin."

Bruce put his hand down on the diary to stop Jeremiah from obsessing over it. "Your brother's dead, Jeremiah. It's time for you to come out of this bunker and join the world."

"Yes. He's dead. I still have trouble believing it." Jeremiah said with a troubled look. Inside he was laughing.

Bruce's cellphone rang. Jeremiah figured it was likely the boy's butler calling about the cultists at the GCPD. He hoped everything was going smoothly on that end. When Bruce hung up the phone he lied and said the call was about lunch plans.

"That was a lie. You're lying to me Bruce?" Jeremiah said.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Bruce said. He didn't look like he wanted to reveal to him about the cultists. But he did. And Jeremiah acted as if he was convinced his brother was back and starting freaking out.

"He's not dead. He's alive and he's coming after me!" Jeremiah said acting freaked out. Bruce tried to calm him down.

"Jeremiah. You aren't thinking clearly." Bruce said worried. "Come on, this isn't like you."

Jeremiah was having a rather good time acting all emotional. "Bruce, I need to tell you something. After Jerome died, he left one last final trap for me. He sprayed me with his insanity gas."

Bruce looked very worried.

"'A special mixture just for you, brother.' he said." Jeremiah said. "I can't stop seeing him. Clawing his way out of his grave, coming for me, and even though I know it's not real, it feels real. And I can't control myself."

"What if I could show you he's dead and buried?" Bruce said.

"How?"

"We go there, to his grave." Bruce said.

"No. No, no, no." Jeremiah said upset. Inwardly he grinned. Bruce was playing right into his hands. He listened to Bruce as the boy tried explaining to him how seeing Jerome's grave would convince him of the truth. That it would free him from his brother's trap.

"You really think it would work?" Jeremiah asked with a vulnerable look on his face.

"I do."

"Then I'll try." Jeremiah said before getting his coat. "You are a good friend, Bruce."

They headed to the cemetery in a taxi since Bruce's butler hadn't arrived at the bunker yet. Bruce strode with a purpose towards where Jerome's grave was located, with Jeremiah walking behind him with a nervous look on his face. Jeremiah heard some noise like cracking twigs underfoot not far from them and looked around nervously. "What was that?" Inside he just groaned and hoped that none of the nearby cultists would screw up and reveal themselves early.

"We're almost there. Just a quick look and we'll leave." Bruce said.

Jeremiah noticed a nearby cultist trying unsuccessfully to hide themselves and tried to get Bruce's attention so he wouldn't notice. "Bruce. I don't know if I can do this."

"Just a little further." Bruce had an almost sad look on his face. Sad like he was worried and devastated for the state of his friend's sanity.

They made it to the grave. It was all dug up. Bruce stared at it in shock. Jeremiah started freaking out again. "He's still alive. I knew it."

"His followers must've dug him up." Bruce said very concerned. He started looking around to see if the cultists were still there. "We have to get out of here." 

"He's alive!" Jeremiah yelled before running off. Bruce ran after him.

While Bruce was busy dealing with a very upset acting Jeremiah hiding in a crypt, the cultists were moving Jerome's body back to his grave. They carefully sat him against his own headstone and then went back to hiding. Jerome patiently waited for Bruce and Jeremiah to discover him acting very convincingly as a rotting corpse. Soon he could hear Bruce and Jeremiah head back to the grave. Jeremiah was acting as if he was convinced that Bruce was really Jerome with Bruce's face stitched on. He had a gun pointed at Bruce and was leading him back to the grave with the intention of 'putting his brother back in his grave'. Bruce was trying to convince Jeremiah that that was the insanity gas talking. Jerome would've giggled if he was capable of giggling as a corpse. It was extremely hilarious to him. 

When they got to the grave and Jeremiah saw Jerome lying against the headstone he acted confused. "What is happening?"

  
Meanwhile back at the bunker, Jim Gordon had arrived to make sure Bruce and Jeremiah were safe. Ecco left it unlocked for Jim and waited in her jester outfit for him out of sight. Jim saw that Bruce and Jeremiah weren't there and turned to leave until a tv monitor switched on and Jerome's face was on the screen.

"Hiya, Jimbo!"

"Jerome." Jim said out loud.

"Ah, don't bother talkin' to me. This is a recorded message, and plus, I'm still dead. Just more posthumous fun. Look, I knew you'd see through all those shenanigans at the station. I'd given all my fans a script for them to follow. See. I wanted to bring you here." Jerome said grinning. 

Jim looked a bit concerned that he might've walked into a trap. And then the black jester placed a gun to his head. Then he really knew he had walked into a trap.

"Don't mind her. She's just here to make sure there's no talking during the movie. And trust me, you're gonna wanna pay attention so the twist makes sense in the end." Jerome said laughing.

  
Back at the cemetery, Jeremiah was staring at the body of Jerome, while Jerome was silently hoping he would get on with it so he could stop pretending to rot. 

"Now do you believe I'm not your brother?" Bruce asked pointing at Jerome's body. "Jeremiah listen to me! Jerome's followers are doing this. Nothing else makes sense." 

Jeremiah made a show of kneeling by Jerome's corpse and looking really closely at it in confusion.

"He sent them instructions to torment you." Bruce pleaded with him.

"How fake. Yes, I can see quite clearly where you cut off poor Bruce's face and stitched on your own." Jeremiah said. Then he reached into Jerome's coat to pull out a razor Jerome kept on him. "I am a man of science. So lets have some evidence, huh?" He got up and started slashing at Bruce with the razor still holding the gun in his other hand. Jerome was finding it hard to keep pretending to be a corpse with how much he wanted to laugh at the situation.

Meanwhile at the bunker.  
Jim watched as Jerome laughed on screen. But then someone started choking Jerome. He couldn't see who was doing it. They were just off screen. But the jester was distracted by the action onscreen long enough that Jim could attack her and knock her unconscious. When he removed her mask and saw it was Ecco, Jeremiah's loyal proxy, he was very confused. That is until Jerome started laughing again and the person that had been choking him came into view. It was Jeremiah. But he was extremely pale and had a less than sane look on his face. 

Bruce had managed to wrestle the gun out of Jeremiah's hands back at the cemetery and had him in a headlock. "Jeremiah! Do not let him turn you into him! Do not let Jerome win this battle!"

"Jerome beat me? That'll be the day." Jeremiah said before breaking into laughter. Right then, the cultists made themselves known and pulled Bruce off of Jeremiah.

"Long live Jerome! Long live Jerome!" said the cultist holding onto Jeremiah. "Jerome is victorious at last!" Jeremiah shot the cultist with a gun he had in a spring lock attached to his arm hidden in his coat.

"Jerome victorious? Are you serious?" Jeremiah said to all the cultists present. They all looked a bit confused. "He's not even real. Jerome is just a shadow. Always was."

Jeremiah had gotten blood on his face from the cultist he shot. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped it down his face, smearing the flesh colored makeup. He smiled a deranged smile as he noticed the shocked look on Bruce's face. He wiped off the rest of his makeup. He didn't need it anymore. It was time to show the world who he really was.

"Look Bruce. You've got to understand something. Jerome may have sprayed me with his insanity gas, but it didn't really do all that much. Other than some mild cosmetic effects, it barely did anything at all. At first I tried to deny it had any effect at all, but I was reminded that its not actually possible for Jerome to be insane and not me. I had a whole speech planned out where I would explain to you all that Jerome had failed and that I would prove that I could sanely accomplish any and all of Jerome's plans myself because I had rationality on my side. Jerome found that all very amusing when I told him. He seemed to think I was fooling myself. And I suppose I was." Jeremiah said.

"Jeremiah, your brother is dead." Bruce said. "You're having delusions."

Jeremiah smirked. "Oh really?"

The corpse of Jerome suddenly looked a lot more fresh than it had before. And it sat up straight and turned to smirk the same exact smirk Jeremiah was sporting at the crowd. The cultists looked shocked and confused. Jerome got to his feet and stood by Jeremiah's side. "Do I look like a delusion, Bruce? Maybe you're right. Maybe I got you with my insanity gas too." he laughed. "I'm only joking. But that would be fun. Maybe later."

"I did tell you he was alive." Jeremiah said amused.

Back at the bunker, Jim was staring at the screen. Jeremiah was standing next to his brother on the screen and smirking arrogantly. "Hello Jim. I'm sure you are rather confused at the moment. You are probably thinking, 'was Jeremiah in it with Jerome all along?'. In a way you would be right. But not exactly how you think. I was not aware of just how involved in all that I really was. The truth is, in a way, I made him do every little mad thing he's ever done in his life as my brother."

Ecco woke up and ran out of the room, locking it on her way out. She needed to book it to get clear of the bunker in time.

Jerome spoke up from beside Jeremiah. "Though, I wouldn't worry about all that right now if I were you Jimbo. No you really should be more worried about yourself. Do you see that behind you?"

Jim looked behind him at the generator that was glowing a calm blue glow.

"That is a self-perpetuating generator." Jeremiah said. "It can store phenomenal amounts of energy."

"I would hate to be within a mile of it if it were to overload." Jerome said grinning madly. 

Back at the cemetery, the cultists were starting to get over their shock at seeing Jerome alive and started getting excited. Bruce looked so confused. He saw Jerome die. It was not a death one was likely to come back from. And yet there Jerome was, grinning alongside Jeremiah, who sported a rather arrogant smirk.

"I don't understand what's going on. How are you alive? You died." Bruce said very confused.

"Oh don't be so disappointed, Bruce. You'll hurt my feelings." Jerome joked.

Bruce pulled himself out of the absolute shock he was in seeing Jerome alive and struggled in the grip of the cultists holding him. "Jeremiah, don't let your brother control you! This is what he wants!"

Jerome and Jeremiah laughed at the same time, in the exact same way. "Jerome, control me? That's amusing. If you knew the truth, you'd know just how ridiculous that statement really is. Do you think I should tell them the truth about you, 'brother'?"

"It's up to you, as always, dear brother." Jerome said.

Jeremiah smiled at him and then looked back at Bruce and the cultists. "Explaining all this is likely to get rather complicated. And hard to believe in some spots. But who really cares if you believe me anyway."

"Normally, getting stabbed in the throat, shot or dropped off a building is likely to make someone very dead." Jerome said. "And this isn't a movie. People don't just come back from any of that. Though in Gotham who can really tell what isn't possible? The point is, that Dwight dude, well his little Frankenstein act likely would not have worked all that well in any normal case. He didn't have any special lab. He was using cobbled together equipment. If I was anyone else, I'd still be very dead. The fact that Dwight and all of you believed it would work, that's what did it. Not the act itself, but the belief."

"Want to know my greatest secret, Bruce?" Jeremiah said. "The thing I've been hiding for years, even from myself at times? Something that Jerome didn't even remember himself until he died the second time? Its quite simple really. I was an only child. I never had any siblings." Jeremiah grinned and Jerome mirrored it.

"What?" Bruce said. "Jerome is quite clearly your brother!"

"Yes he seems that way doesn't he? But the truth is, before I was seven years old, I didn't have a twin brother." Jeremiah said. 

"Now you'll all probably say, 'is Jerome a clone or something?'" Jerome said rolling his eyes. "Nope. Not a clone. More like a mirror. Or maybe a wish. The truth is I'm not really sure what I am. And I never really cared to figure that out. And before I fell off that building I just thought I was a normal guy. I didn't remember the truth. Only Miah here knew the truth. So I suppose I owe Jimbo some thanks for that. Oh speaking of Jimbo. Its about that time isn't it dear 'brother'?"

"Indeed it is." Jeremiah said. "Bruce. I have to say. Just because Jerome may have wanted you dead, I don't want you dead."

"Honestly, the only reason I wanted to kill you was because that Theo guy made me threaten you shortly before he stabbed me and I know he definitely wanted you dead and I think when I came back I was confused and I ended up mirroring that desire a bit unintentially. Sorry." Jerome said not really looking all that sorry.

"I want you alive because I want to show you how much I've changed things. How much we've changed things. Because I could not have done any of this without your help."

"My help?" Bruce said.

Jeremiah and Jerome sported identical grins.

Back at the bunker. The generator started making an odd noise.

"That sound you are hearing?" Recorded Jeremiah said.

"That is a very bad sound." Jerome finished for him.

The generator turned a menacing red.

"Which I'm afraid, makes you something of a guinea pig, Jim."

"I feel very indebted to you Bruce." Jeremiah said back at the cemetery. "You see, those generators, that we built with your money, they work even better as bombs." 

"Killing you would've helped to secure the loyalty of Jerome's minions. That's how I planned it anyway." Jeremiah said.

Jim frantically searched the room for a way out. 

"But we don't really need to do that now. This is now just us wanting to kill you, Jimbo." Jerome said. "But I do want to say thanks. That fall really worked wonders for my head and remembering stuff. So I guess thanks for killing me."

Jim found a button on the underside of Jeremiah's desk. He pressed and it opened up a way out. He grabbed a nearby diagram that looked important and then tried to get as far away from the bunker as he could. As soon as he got outside, it blew.

They could see the explosion of the bunker from the cemetery.

"Dear little Jimbo is dead." Jerome said to everyone. The cultists cheered.

"No! No!" Bruce yelled in anger.

"Yes Bruce. Sorry. But progress requires sacrifice." Jeremiah said.

"Plus that annoying do-gooder was getting on my nerves. Its great he's finally dead." Jerome said happily.

"This is insane! Everything you've said is insane!" Bruce said. "Jeremiah please tell me this is just a delusion. Jerome is crazy and he's dragging you down with him!" 

"I actually was convinced for the longest time that Jerome had gone insane all by himself. That maybe the fact that he wasn't human made him like that. That he was just naturally a monster. But the truth is, like he said, he's just a mirror. I don't think whatever he is can do anything but mirror what it sees or in this case mirrors anything that's in the head of the person it has bonded with. I was just fooling myself into believing I didn't make Jerome exactly how I wanted him. That every time he did something mad that I wasn't just unconsciously making him do what I only dreamed of doing myself. You see, the thing is, Jerome here? He's only this way because I poured every little negative and deranged thought and feeling of mine into him. In that way, I could fool myself into believing I was the only sane and normal person in my family. I could pretend to be normal while Jerome went off and acted out every little deranged fantasy I ever had. I twisted him into the madman you see. So I suppose, I'm really the deranged violent madman deep down. And always was. Not him. Jerome is just my shadow." 

As if to prove what they were saying, Jerome's features shifted to the same pale smooth face as Jeremiah's briefly and then back. The cultists looked shocked but still excited. Bruce couldn't believe his eyes.

Bruce recovered quickly and yelled. "I don't care which one of you is the mad one! I'm going to stop both of you!"

"I really hope you don't try." Jeremiah said. "I would hate to have to kill you. In fact, I can honestly say, you are my very best friend. Well, my very best human friend anyway." 

Jeremiah knocked Bruce unconscious and Jerome dumped the boy in his open grave. Then Jeremiah started walking away, Jerome just behind him. Jerome looked behind him at all the cultists and raised an eyebrow, and pointed out that they should probably follow them instead of standing there like dumbasses.


End file.
